Tag: Llandudno

Why my postcard from Llandudno has a taste of seaside nostalgia

It was a weekend of seaside nostalgia.

We took a trip to Llandudno last weekend to write a postcard from the North Walian resort for Telegraph Travel.

But it was also something of a personal journey.

I used to go to Llandudno on family holidays as a child — that’s me aged around five with my mum on the prom at the North Shore [pictured above].

This time I was back with my own two daughters for a UK seaside break after our original holiday plans were cancelled under lockdown.

But how would an old-school seaside resort shape up for two Tick Tock teens?

Here’s a taster of my story:

The collapse of air bridges has led to the North Wales coast enjoying a post-lockdown bonanza.

We find Landudno’s pebbly North Beach busy with rockpool paddlers, despite some rather menacing clouds over the Great Orme, and the cafés along Mostyn Street bustling with al-fresco diners seeking Cymru-sur-mer vibes.

“People are hungry for good food they don’t have to prepare and clean up afterwards,” says Michael Waddy, Executive Chef at the Empire Hotel.

Read the full story here.

Get stuffed! A tastebud-tickling tour of nourishing North Wales

Local produce is a major draw for visitors to Wales.

Indeed, there’s a host of local suppliers and independent producers celebrated each year by the Great Taste Awards Wales.

In particular, the artisan food and drink sector has grown in recent years with a turnover of £4.8bn in 2018-19 and 78,000 people employed in the food and farming sector, according to figures from Food & Drink Wales.

This themed tour would be ideal for an autumn departure around the time of the annual British Food and Drink Fortnight, The Conwy Honey Fair or one of the smaller harvest festivals staged across North Wales.

This route is designed to form an overarching narrative on the theme of food and drink.

It describes the rise of independent businesses, highlighting the range and quality of local flavours, and the human story of our local food heroes.

It builds in rhythm from site visit in Llandudno, via a coach-based scenic tour in the Valley and lunch stop, to a town-centre walking tour of Cowny with time for souvenir shopping before departure.

Along the way we will enjoy product tastings, guest talks from local chefs and an opportunity to meet and sample the goods of local independent food producers in North Wales.

If your group would like to join this independent tour, then please do get in touch.

Visit Llandudno Tourism Brochure 2016 for Conwy County Council

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* Image from conwybrewery.co.uk

I’ve been working on a copywriting project over the autumn.

The brief came from Conwy County Borough Council to write the Visit Llandudno tourism brochure for 2016.

I’ve tried to bring the brochure, out early in the new year, a more news-driven feel as well as weaving in some more personal narratives, including taking my daughters on a family weekend in Llandudno.

But I’ve also tried to highlight some of the grew stories around the region, coming up with the idea of a local voices panel for some the spreads.

By way of an example, here’s a preview of one of these from Gwynne Thomas, owner of the Conwy Brewery:

“I love beer. I love the taste, the variety and, currently, the innovation going on in beer and brewing.

“I remember my first pint of real ale as a teenager with my dad but started brewing with home-brew kits as a chemistry student at Newcastle University.

“I started the microbrewery in Conwy in 2004 and expanded in 2007, viewing it as a less of a cottage industry and more of a commercial enterprise as a my client base grew.

“Today we produce some 25,000 pints per week with five core ales, four American-style craft beers and regular guest ales.

“We also now run brewery tours and design your own beer days at our brewery in the village of Llysfaen, Colwyn.

“My role has changed a lot. I got involved with The Albion real-ale pub in Cowny in 2012 and we opened The Bridge Inn last year.

“Cowny Brewery ales are now in around 100 pubs across North Wales, plus a national listing with JD Wetherspoon, and we recently signed a deal to sell into Co-operative convenience stores.

“But one my key tasks remains tasting the beers to check they’re up t scratch.

That’s the hardest part of the job, obviously.”

Check back here, or at my Twitter page (above), for details of when the brochure will be available in TICs around Wales.

What did you think of this story? Post your comments below.

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Story of the week: A glimpse of life on millionaires’ row in Llandudno, North Wales

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The car turns down a narrow, private road.

We drive on, skirting the lower slopes of the Great Orme Nature Reserve to the right and catching occasional glimpses of the sea to the left.

The road narrows but the local mountain goats make way, ushering us towards a large private property set back from the road. As we approach, the hefty electronic gate swings gently back and we descend a steep drive to get our first real view of the house.

Then it strikes me. Should the villain from a James Bond film ever be looking for a stately seaside escape in North Wales, this place is ideal.

I’ve come to Plas Eithin, a spacious, four-bedroom bungalow in Llandudno’s West Shore district, not for a private audience with Blofeld, but for a look around a property on the most expensive road in Wales.

Llandudno’s Llys Helyg Drive recently beat Cardiff’s Cefn Coed Road to the top spot in a survey compiled by the property website mouseprice.com.

With individual properties, large plots, sea frontage and panoramic views across to the Snowdonia National Park, the average house price is £830,200. Plas Eithin is expected to sell for around £750,000.

“The location would even surpass than the French Riviera if only the weather was better,” smiles Bryan Davies, MD of local agents Bryan Davies & Associates, as he shows me round.

“Llys Helyg Drive has one of the most outstanding coastal locations in Wales.”

Elegant resort 

The Victorian seaside resort of Llandudno is an attractive town with a fantastic natural location and a sweeping promenade fringed by elegant, period architecture.

It’s a busy resort in summer but still retains a dignified air, thanks primarily to the efforts of freeholders Mostyn Estates, who ensure the resort’s Victorian features are carefully maintained.

The American-born travel writer Bill Bryson enjoyed his visit so much, he was moved to describe Llandudno as his “favourite seaside resort”.

The town traditionally appealed to young families and retired day-trippers but has made great strides in recent years to broaden its appeal with the opening of the Venue Cymru arts centre, a major new retail park, Parc Llandudno, and a slew of smart new places to eat and stay.

The Welsh Assembly is planning to open new offices at Llandudno Junction next year with around 300 staff relocating from Cardiff, while the extension to Oriel Mostyn Gallery, North Wales’ leading contemporary art gallery, opens later this year.

Bryan Davies identifies interest in three key types of property, reflecting the changing demographics of the town.

Three or four-bedroom family properties come with a price tag around £200,000, three-bedroom retirement bungalows are £180,000 and holiday-home apartments start from £150,00 with two bedrooms.

Llandudno offers good transport links via the A55 and M56 motorway, and regular train services connecting to London in three hours on the West Coast main line. Families are well served by two well-regarded private schools in the area, Rydal Penrhos at Colwyn Bay and St David’s College, Llandudno.

“We find people with children moving here and working in Chester or Manchester. We also have a lot of clients with connections to the area who are coming back from the Southeast, first as a holiday home but with a view to eventually retire here,” says Davies.

Transport connections 

“We chose Llandudno for the location, the way it is managed as a unspoilt British seaside resort and for the ease of public transport connections,” says Roger Pomlett, a semi-retired company secretary, who now divides his time between a two-bedroom apartment in Llandudno and the family home in Nantwich.

“Llandudno has a good mix of generations these days as the traditional trade in pensioners and coach parties is, quite literally, dying off,” he explains, as we walk through the marble hallway at Bodlondeb Castle, leather sofas framing the elaborate staircase, which leads to his second-floor apartment.

Lancashire-based Beck Homes converted this erstwhile hotel into 15 homes, nine luxury apartments and six cottages. Pomlett was one of the first to move in, buying the apartment for £380,000. An additional charge of £2,000 per annum is levied for a comprehensive maintenance package.

“This is a million miles from your average holiday flat,” says Pomlett as we sink into twin leather chairs in the lounge, a view of the West Shore and Snowdon range from the large bay window.

“Each property has an individual feel, plus the building has secure parking, which is at a premium in Llandudno,” he adds, before showing me his favorite feature, an en-suite bathroom hidden behind a secret door in the master bedroom’s build-in wardrobe.

“Our investment decision was based on our belief that Llandudno will always be a great place to live,” he says.

Boutique hotel 

Sam Nayar, the owner of Escape boutique B&B, is keen to see the resort build on work over the last few years to develop more high-end dining and accommodation options.

He moved the family from Congleton, Cheshire, five years ago, picking up a large but neglected property for £300,000. After a further £200,00 investment, he opened Escape as a nine-room guesthouse with a keen eye for design.

“Moving here was a purely lifestyle-driven choice for us. We liked the architecture and the unspoilt feel but, most of all, it felt like a great place to bring up children,” says Nayar, handling calls from a Terence Conran chair in the contemporary residents lounge.

“Unlike many seaside towns Llandudno is a year-round town with its cultural scene, its retail offer and a steady stream of business tourism with conferences at the Venue Cymru,” adds Nayar, who is now looking for another property in the area, especially as prices have fallen around five per cent since the 2007 peak.

Back at Plas Eithin, we’ve completed the viewing and I join Bryan in the garden to savior the view across to Anglesey and the fairytale turrets of Unesco-listed Conwy Castle. He looks along the headland to a neighbouring property that recently sold for over £1m.

“You can’t put a figure on what sea view adds to a property,” he smiles.

I may not have come face to face with a Bond villain on this trip, but a visit to a hidden gem in North Wales is still enough to leave me feeling both shaken and stirred.

What did you think of this story? Post your comments below.

This article was first published in the Weekend FT in 2009.

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